Blog

Feb 14, 2013
0 comments: Happy Valentine's Day
Dec 24, 2012
0 comments: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you from the KNO family!

We're excited to share our final challenge of the holiday season with you...

During this holiday season, we’re encouraging you to take steps to help people who are currently experiencing homelessness. We hope you will be the change you want to see in this world. Each challenge lasts for at least one week and we invite you to share your experience with us on Twitter and Facebook.

For our final challenge, we’re asking you to do one thing: share your story. Tell us and tell those around you about why you are a KNO customer. There are so many places to shop but we’re curious why you choose to shop at KNO? What attracts you to our company? Has your interaction with KNO motivated you to help the homeless? If so, how? Go ahead and comment on this blog post to share your story. But please don’t stop there! Strike up conversations with family, friends and coworkers. You never know how your story might impact their lives.

Also, if you received a gift from KNO this holiday, please share pictures with us on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to see them!

Good luck on completing our last challenge for the year. Once you are done, be sure to share your experience with us on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #KNOvember.
Dec 19, 2012
0 comments: KNOvember Challenge #3: Sharing is Caring

During this holiday season, we’re encouraging you to take steps to help people who are currently experiencing homelessness. We hope you will be the change you want to see in this world. Each challenge lasts for at least one week and we invite you to share your experience with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Holidays! We’re so thankful for all of our supporters, because it is through their purchases and passion to help end homelessness that we have really made a significant impact over the past year. Our hope is that their passion would spread, and many more people become aware about KNO and get involved in the movement.

For our next challenge, we want you to share the KNO story with friends, family and loved ones. Encourage the people you know to purchase KNO products. Want to take it a step further? Buy a KNO product as a gift for someone in your life. We know that your passion for our movement is contagious, and we’re excited to see how many more people learn about KNO through you.

Good luck completing our third challenge. Once you are done, be sure to share it with us on Twitter and Facebook by using the hashtag #KNOvember.

P.S. – We have one more challenge coming so stay tuned for that… unless the world ends on Friday!
Nov 22, 2012
0 comments: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! As we begin this holiday season, we want to thank all of you for your support over the past year. It has been a privilege to see your enthusiasm and your commitment to help people who are experiencing homelessness in the United States. Your purchases have helped us distribute over 1,500 articles of clothing and have helped house nearly 23,000 people.

We're excited to share our KNOvember Campaign video with you!

Thank you so much for your support. Together, we can help end homelessness.

Anthony and Steve
Nov 21, 2012
0 comments: KNOvember Challenge #2: Give Something

During this holiday season, we’re encouraging you to take steps to help people who are currently experiencing homelessness. We hope you will be the change you want to see in this world. Each challenge lasts for at least one week and we invite you to share your experience with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Did you participate in the challenge last week? If not, don’t worry. Take a moment to read through it and come back when your ready for this one.

By now, we hope you have started to recognize the “invisible” people around you. By "invisible" people, we mean those who, on the streets of our cities, survive everyday with little access to food, shelter and proper clothing. It's so easy to feel helpless when you see them, but have you ever considered helping them in a small way?

Here's our second challenge: offer to buy a meal for someone who is currently experiencing homelessness. Your offer may be gratefully accepted or quickly dismissed--but don't be discouraged. If you can, go ahead and ask someone else. Don’t forget to share your experience with us.

Good luck completing our second challenge. Once you are done, be sure to share it with us on Twitter and Facebook by using the hashtag #KNOvember.
Nov 15, 2012
0 comments: KNOvember Challenge #1: Take a Walk

During this holiday season, we’re encouraging you to take steps to help people who are currently experiencing homelessness. We hope you will be the change you want to see in this world. Each challenge lasts for one week and we invite you to share your experience with us on Twitter and Facebook.

There are people experiencing homelessness in your city. Some of you might be aware of it while others might not. No matter where you fall, we want to challenge you this week to take a walk around town. If you don't live in an urban area, drive out to the closest city and walk around. Observe your surroundings and take a mental note of the people you see who are experiencing homelessness.

If you are willing to go a step further, we encourage all of you to say hello to a person who is currently experiencing homelessness. If your schedule allows, ask them for their name and start a conversation.

Our hope is that you start to recognize the “invisible” people around you and learn the name(s) of your neighbors.

Good luck completing this week’s challenge. Once you are done, be sure to share it with us on Twitter and Facebook by using the hashtag #KNOvember.
Aug 08, 2012
0 comments: Stand By Me

There are many social groups in the Animal Kingdom. Wolves cooperate through complex family units to hunt prey and raise their young, chimpanzees groom each other to share the love, and dolphins take care of their ill and injured pod members, keeping predators away from them and even helping them to the surface to breathe. All of them flourish because of their ability to cooperate and create a codependent social structure.

Of course, hominid species have developed the most complex social systems, from tens of thousands of years ago, when our progenitors shared tool-making culture, to right now, when we humans constantly work to reform our social and governmental systems. Our instinct for codependency, to help others and be helped, is difficult to kill.

Even those who have nothing—our society’s homeless population—do what they can to band together in order to share whatever little resources they have. Tent cities dot the expanse of the United States, and the homeless there learn how to survive in micro-societies, sharing food, setting rules, and sometimes even organizing free meals to help out their fellow homeless in more dire straits.

But our codependency instinct is easy to specialize toward benefiting only certain groups. We act in codependency with those we individually designate as part of our community. In fact, we organize the our world in levels and levels of community, depending on proximity to the individual, and many times, we make the mistake of only caring about those we have immediate contact with. No one is happy that our country’s homelessness rates are at an all-time high, but usually the problem is so distant from our social circles that we do little to help.

If only we could curb this propensity to specialize and find a way to resonate with our greater community’s most marginal members. It has been said many times, but we are only as strong as our weakest link.

Since it is only instinct to open your hands and embrace your fellow, we just have to learn how to make the most of these natural inclinations, and sometimes that is by providing easier options to help.

By purchasing fairly traded, 100% organic cotton or post-consumer recycled products from KNO Clothing, you can make the most of the resources in our greater community. You can buy the clothing you need daily, while making sure someone on the margins is being helped. KNO gives 50% of our profits to support the work of our partners in ending homelessness, reaching out to over 130 different communities across the United States. When you shop at KNO, your purchase also provides brand new articles of clothing to someone without shelter. That purchase will reach out to help someone far away, whom you will never know.

It is highly complex codependency at work, and a more responsible re-channeling of the need to consume. We should care about everyone, not just the people we know, and we should make sure that every action creates maxim benefit. This is what we aim to achieve at KNO Clothing.

About the author: Drisana is the KNO Communications Associate for Summer 2012. She studies Literature at Yale University.
Jul 23, 2012
0 comments: KNO Photo Hunt

We hope your summer is going well. We're loving the warm weather, sunny skies, and time with friends + family.

It's been a while since we've posted on here because our interns have taken over the blog. If you haven't read their posts, we strongly encourage you to do so. We feel so encouraged to work with amazing people who care deeply about ending homelessness.

We're excited to announce the KNO Photo Hunt today:

What are you waiting for? Pull out your phone and take some photos. We'd love to see them. Remember, everyone is a winner at KNO.

Thanks for your support!

Anthony and Steve
Jul 22, 2012
0 comments: Bill of Rights

As I was recently reading through the Chicago Tribune’s recent article regarding homelessness and political policy, I stumbled across an interesting article written by Jason McLure of Reuters. In his brief article, “Rhode Island passes bill to guarantee rights of homeless people”, McLure notes on the recent and unique “Homeless Bill of Rights” legislation that was passed by the Rhode Island Senate this past June. Through this new legislature, the rights of local persons who are experiencing homelessness to eat, sleep, and other activities will be legal in public places, and formally bans discrimination against people on the street in terms of securing equal access to jobs, housing, and services. Quite an amazing feat!

But then I began thinking about the roots of this bill, and how it could impact other large cities, such as Chicago, if all our communities, organizations, and politicians would take note of the effects of homelessness. Although I believe that a “Homeless Bill of Rights” should already be implied, I also see it as a step forward towards ending homelessness. In large cities such as Chicago, these actions to end homelessness are desperately needed: and that is where KNO comes into the story.

On September 22, 2012, KNO Clothing, along with The Prop, will be hosting its first ever Change of Pace 5K, a family-friendly race aimed at spreading awareness about homelessness as well as raising funds to help Chicago’s homeless population. Whether it’s running, walking, sponsoring, or volunteering for this event, you could help be the positive force in assisting the homeless in Chicago. Though we all can’t sign off on a “Homeless Bill of Rights”, we can all take part in events, such as the Change of Pace 5K, to ensure the health, dignity, and safety of America’s homeless population. These actions, no matter how big or small, prove that when there is passion, there is action; and where there is action, there will be leaders that help make a difference possible.

If you are in the Chicago area, please visit the links below to learn more about the Change of Pace 5K:

http://www.facebook.com/ChangeOfPace5K
@knoclothing
#changeofpace5K

About the author: Amber is the KNO Marketing and Sales Associate for Summer 2012. She studies Business Law at Albion College.
Jul 16, 2012
0 comments: Detroit: Restoring Greatness

What do you know about Detroit? You probably know it is home to the recovering Detroit Lions NFL team, Eminem and his infamous 8 Mile, and to the downturned automotive industry struggling to recover since 2008. You probably think of it as crime-ridden, empty, or forgotten. Don’t be afraid to admit it, for as much as it is partially true many others think the same way. But did you know that it is actually a vibrant city with a deep-seeded history in music, night life, and athletics – and still is?

Being from Northern Michigan, I had a similar conception of Detroit. Growing up, I would quickly drive in for a baseball game at Tiger Stadium, or an indie rock concert at The Fillmore, and quickly hop back onto I-75, and drive home hoping to not make a wrong turn that would lead me to a dangerous neighborhood. Yet it all changed two years ago after I took the time to volunteer, study, and temporarily reside in Detroit. Through my experiences of working in community urban gardens, homeless shelters, and talking to young and old Detroit natives working to rebuild their beloved city, I discovered that there are some very important things left in Detroit: Pride, Commitment, and Hope. And now I am proud to say that my idea of Detroit has changed – and it’s time yours does too.

But what’s the problem? Why is there a stigma associated with Detroit? Is it the over publicized crime, drugs, or lack of manufacturing jobs? Dare we even discuss “white flight” or education injustice in such a politically-correct charged day and age? Yet no matter what controversial aspect of the city that you’re still stuck on, it all leads back to one major issue the city is facing: homelessness. In terms of urban living, everything tends to be cyclical and consequential: the education system to the job market, the job market to the economy, and the economy to the individual. And in Detroit, the snowball effects of unemployment to inflation to drug problems are working together to create an alarming rate of homelessness. According to the National Survey of Programs and Services for Homeless Families in Michigan, Detroit had the third highest number of both homeless individuals (11,913) and persons in families (6,149) in the country and over one-third of the city’s residents are living below the poverty level. (www.icprwb.org) Numbers such as these are shocking, and at times disheartening.

It is clear that Detroit has the spirit and drive to get back on its feet. It is ready for a movement. It is ready and waiting for the next generation to set aside its false biases, take hold the reins, and creatively solve the economic, political, and social problems Detroit faces with compassion and respect for the city’s rich history and resources.

But what can I do as an individual? What can we do as Michiganders, Midwesterners, or as a nation to fight the abrasive and snowball effects of homelessness? The first thing to do, as I have discovered, is to change our perceptions. I encourage every one of you reading this to take the time to do some quick research on the city’s history – it’s quite vibrant. Learn about where it came from, what it’s created, and why it’s in the shape that it’s in. Also talk to those people who have a first-hand experience in the city. Read blogs, newspapers, Tumblrs, Twitter feeds – anything you can get your hands on to get a fresh and accurate perception of the city. By engaging in learning about the city, or any city across the United States that is facing this issue, we are able to overlook our past biases, and move forward in helping those in need.

Next is to take action. If you want to make a positive impact in Detroit, or your own community, you must be proactive. Especially when it comes to helping end homelessness, there is a lot of work and volunteering to be done. Search out the shelters, missions, and organizations that give back to your community; yet make sure you do so out of compassion, understanding, and hopefulness. For instance, KNO Clothing’s partnership with the 100,000 Homes Campaign is proving to be a powerful force in the city. Recently, the campaign has focused on serving and providing housing for Motor City’s veterans.

Detroit, like many other cities stricken with homelessness is an amazing city filled with equally amazing people – and homeless or not, they deserve all of the respect and integrity that can be provided. By changing our perceptions, reaching out, and lending a hand, we as a new generation can change the Motor City, state, or country. Get active, get involved, and learn something about where you came from – you won’t regret it.

About the author: Amber is the KNO Marketing and Sales Associate for Summer 2012. She studies Business Law at Albion College.
Jun 24, 2012
0 comments: The Power of Stories

Usually, the case for growth is more empirical. We must undergo a life-changing experience before understanding ourselves and altering how we perceive the world. No amount of cautionary tales will keep us from entrusting our hearts too soon to those who don’t deserve them or from not organizing our finances or from not living every day as our last, and the like. Words alone usually fall short.

But sometimes, there are words arranged within stories that are powerful enough to convey an experience so heavy with the truth of humanity that they persuade us to examine ourselves. Stories like these weave themselves into our own story—becoming part of who we are, though they may have happened to someone else.

Though these stories may cover things that we will never experience in our own lives, their sharing stirs our emotions and initiates our greater understanding of the world beyond ourselves. They may even fuel our goals, just as the countless stories of those in desperation fuel a cause.

They are forces of change that may not completely alter behavior, but definitely steer people in the right direction.

These stories are gifts.

Stories enrich our lives and come to our aid when facing personal obstacles. They may not be true experience, but they are enough to teach right from wrong, compassion, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

The best part is that we all have a story, a gift, to share with the world. We all have a story within us that can travel beyond our social reach, something path-turning and path-forging for others. And each story deserves an audience, just as each person deserves love and to be recognized as an individual.

Sadly, we see everyday that there are stories out there, as inspiring as they may one day become, that simply should not be in today’s society. On every street corner, there are those whose stories remind us of how easily our stories as we know them can take nightmarish turns, how our basic needs, such as food, shelter, and love, can be stripped away. In order to complete our stories, we at KNO believe that everyone deserves a happy ending, and the most inspiring stories of hardship are those that end in a message of hope and love.

Within our stories rest the seeds not only for change-making and world-shaping, but also for understanding who we are as individuals and where our strengths lie. They are the keys to figuring out who we are and what we were meant to do as a positive force in the world.

Here at KNO, we believe everyone deserves a chance to make their life story as they wish it to be, and sometimes the most basic step in helping someone achieve this is making sure they have a place to call home. We want to help people to create, share, and listen to stories, because we think this is the best way to compel people to help out in the community, ensuring that everyone attains their basic rights to love and shelter.

Think of the stories that have enriched you and where they came from, as unlikely as the source may be. Think of the gifts you have received and the gifts you can give—and who you can best give them to.
About the author: Drisana is the KNO Communications Associate for Summer 2012. She studies Literature at Yale University.
Jun 13, 2012
1 comments: Meet Anthony and Steve

After meeting scores and scores of people experiencing homelessness, she stood out. The first thing the two young men noticed was how young she was, only her in early 20s—like them. The young men were getting to know people who were homeless in Harrisburg, a city about two hours from the City of Brotherly Love and the state capital. They wanted to know what their homeless neighbors thought of their new business model, and in her they saw a true peer. It fully dawned on them that anyone could experience homelessness. Anyone—society could even throw out young women, who should be enjoying sororities and the ideals of college life, on the streets.

She told them how she ended up in her current condition. Since she was a little girl, she had never had a stable home, moving from abusive relationship to abusive relationship. It was all she knew. And when she was a little girl, overwhelmed with pain, she decided to make her way to jail, the one place she believed she could find constancy, for jail does not kick people out. Jail swallows people up and grasps them between barred teeth.

But surprisingly, it was in jail that she met a woman who told her something that had never been told to her before—that she was a worthy individual. So this young woman sought help through Bethesda Mission (one of KNO’s partners) and began working toward building a better life for herself, one that she could enjoy in the great many years ahead of her.

This young lady’s story reminded the two young men that many times, it is usually those who are already victims that suffer the hardship of homelessness.

But what of the stories of these young men?

Just out of college, Steve had moved to Philadelphia to make it on his own, but he grew shocked at the number of men and woman sitting on street corners and sleeping in the shadows, overlooked. He walked pass them every day, until they became familiar faces in a new and unfamiliar city. They were his neighbors, just like the housed individuals who lived beside him, above and below him.

Steve always had an interest in clothing design, but he knew the fashion world to have a reputation for heartlessness. He wanted to do something to help the desperate people he saw every day, so Steve searched for a way to fuse his aspirations in design with his desire to get his neighbors out of the cold and into a warm home. He felt that when you see people who need your help persistently, every single day, how could you not do something to lend them a hand?

As for the other young man, Philadelphia was perhaps even more unfamiliar. Anthony had been born and raised in India and had moved to over 10 other countries throughout his youth. He had seen all kinds of people in all sorts of living conditions. He acknowledged his initial discomfort upon witnessing some of these people in desperate conditions. Sometimes he would feel guilt and give them some money, and other times, he would just walk away. But like each of us, he knew he could do more. But unlike most of us, he decided to act on this instinct. When he encountered another human being, whoever they were and whatever they were experiencing, he chose to focus on the person inside, rather than what he saw before him. This led him to develop a more concrete solution, more suited to preserving the dignity of the individual, rather than calling attention to their desperation.

When Anthony met Steve, they decided to team up to end homelessness, co-founding KNO Clothing. They knew they couldn’t help every single person they met along the way, but that their efforts could help change some lives. When they met the young lady from above and her peers, they took their stories to heart and decided to create a business model based on the idea that “we should all so something to encourage those who might be hurting in our communities, because everyone deserves hope and love.”

About the author: Drisana is the KNO Communciations Associate for Summer 2012. She studies Literature at Yale University.
Apr 18, 2012
0 comments: Smile

Who doesn’t like to see people smile? A smile can change the attitude of an entire room. It begins as a small facial expression, but its transforming power is remarkable.

A couple weeks ago, we had the exciting opportunity to spend a day in Lancaster, PA. Our goal was to create a film to help us share the story of KNO.

One of the highlights of the day was working with the talented and brilliant Sarah Hawkins who both starred in and co-produced the video. The writer and other co-producer was her friend Rick Hansberry. The pair blew us away by assembling together an amazing and talented film crew, and Sarah’s family treated us to a mouth-watering meal—‘taco-in-a-bag’, anyone?

We’re so excited to release one of the films we put together. It’s called “Smile.”

We’re glad to share that “Smile” will be screened at the Lancaster Area Film Festival on June 2nd, so if any of you are in the area, come out and watch it on the big screen! Also, we haveve entered “Smile” into the Sixty Second Film Fest, organized by Penn Cinema, La Porte Jewelers, and Fine Living Lancaster. If our film is selected as one of the top 12, it will be screened at Penn Cinema in Lititz, PA on May 13th. Keep your fingers crossed!

Enjoy watching the video, and go ahead and share it with friends and family. Our hope is that through this and our other efforts, people will learn about our movement and get involved. Why? Because helping those experiencing homelessness is fulfilling and it will bring a smile to your face and the faces of many others.
Apr 03, 2012
0 comments: My experience at a KNO Delivery Event

7:00 am: The familiar iPhone alarm goes off, a marimba sequence that would be pleasant if it didn’t disrupt my slumber for an 8am statistics class three times a week. But today is a Saturday and I can’t hit the snooze button.

7:15 am: Bravely venture out into the chilly morning, dressed for maximum warmth. The sky is overcast and the chance of rain hangs heavy in the air.

7:25 am: Finally reach the Astor Place subway station. The flashing sign indicates that the next train won’t be here for another 15 minutes. I mentally smack myself for misreading the map and not just leaving from the Union Square station. Frantically clinging on to what little signal I get underground, I text Anthony telling him I’ll be running late.

7:55 am: Exit the subway system. Whipping out my phone, I consult it for a good minute, turning it this way and that, tapping the compass and squinting at the name on the street sign one block down until I’m sure of which way to go. Promptly begin running in the wrong direction.

7:58 am: Administer another mental smack upon realizing my mistake. A call from Anthony comes in and I assure him I will be there in 2 minutes, as I sprint in the right direction this time.

8:00 am: Arrive at The Bowery Mission. At least, according to my phone, I’ve arrived. But I don’t see any signs. Then I hear my name and see Anthony waving to me from the front seat of a van. I run over, apologizing profusely for being late.

8:15 am: Get off at Tompkins Square Park. Volunteers begin to unload crates of food – everything from Pret a Manger sandwiches and Whole Foods salads to cucumbers and apple slices. Anthony points to the spot at the end of the food line where we’ll be handing out socks in addition to hummus, wraps, and packs of fruit. Keith, from the Bowery Mission, asks for my “game face” and laughs at my feeble attempt. In addition to staff from the mission, there is also a group of volunteers from Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Everyone is so energetic despite the early hour.

8:45 am: First pair of socks go out. “Good morning, how are you? Would you like a chicken or egg wrap? Carrots or apples? Here’s a pair of socks too. Stay warm and have a nice day!” The line is shorter than usual, Anthony tells me. Maybe it’s because of the imminent rain. We have 100 pairs of socks to hand out but perhaps there won’t even be enough people to give them all out. There is a misty drizzle now.

9:30 am: Running out of socks! The drizzle has turned into a light rain but that hasn’t stopped more individuals from coming out, umbrellas in hand. There is an interesting mix of people, many of whom seem to be from nearby Chinatown. There is a man dressed in business attire and I even spot a couple of coach purses. Some want wraps but no fruit, some want apples and not veggies, but not a single person says no to a pair of socks. They are all so thankful for the warm, clean socks – something we take for granted but is a rare luxury for those who are currently experiencing homelessness.

9:45 am: All the socks are gone. After handing out the remaining hummus, it is time to wrap up and head out. I’m actually feeling reluctant to go. It’s a relief to get out of the rain, which has grown into a steady stream, but at the same time, I wish we had enough socks for every person to receive a pair.

There it is… my first time participating in a KNO Delivery Event. Now I think I can say that I am truly “in the KNO.” What is so amazing is that the Bowery Mission hands out even more food than this on an almost daily basis. What if KNO could do that with socks? Food is important because it keeps our bodies going, but clean clothing provides warmth warm and dignity. If you are reading this, I would like to ask you to purchase KNO. Don’t just make a fashion statement with what you wear. Make a statement about ending homelessness.
Apr 01, 2012
0 comments: Design For Good

As a junior in graphic design at Iowa State University, I have learned that if you have persistence, an adventurous imagination, and a sketchbook that never leaves your side, you have all you need to enter the world of design.

I have been fortunate to have lived my life with no problem of finding a roof to cover my head, and the facts about homelessness are a rude awakening. Knowing that there are people living on the streets, I cannot simply choose to turn a blind eye. With a designer's heart for human trafficking victims and the homeless, I seek to help people through art. Design should not be stagnant, it should produce onward thinking.

KNO Clothing is a company that provides me with inspiration. Through my internship, I am learning more and more about the homeless population in the United States and the troubles that surround them. I am gaining a new perspective on what it means to always have a roof over my head. I know that so often I take this for granted. The awareness of what is happening nationally and globally in homeless communities has awakened an urgency in me.

I am excited to be working for KNO Clothing, and I am looking forward to designing to support such a need as this!

About the author: Emily is the KNO Creative and Design Associate for Spring 2012. She studies Graphic Design at Iowa State University.
Mar 20, 2012
1 comments: Rituals, Habits, Monotony

Spring is here! I love it—the yearly thaw, the sudden color of flowers and trees, the warming beaches, breaking out the shorts and dresses. I love it because it breaks the routine of winter. So, I got to thinking about rituals— habits, monotony, whatever you call it. It creates complacency, for sure. Yet, it also helps you to see and experience small things in life as significant.

For example, I went grocery shopping yesterday.

This means I had to walk the half-mile back to my college with ten pounds of food hanging off my arms. (Usually, it also involves tripping over cobblestone, hitting a metal can of food against my knee, and losing circulation in my lower arms.) It’s a fun time. On every walk, I see the same man sitting against the wall of an apartment building with his Pit Bull puppy in his lap. He’s a magazine vendor and he’s homeless. I don’t know his name. I don’t know where he sleeps or where he showers. I could avoid him, but I happen to be a regular customer.

He calls me “Darling,” in that endearing British way and we exchange a few words each time we see each other. (His dog finally let me pet it yesterday, too. Yes!)

The usual happens: I hand the man a 5-pound note—grocery bags still hanging from my arms. He hands me a magazine and 2.50 in change. We chat about his dog and we say bye.

“Have a good day, my dear,” he says.

It’s almost a mundane interaction, until I think about my summer with KNO and the talks I had with Anthony and Stephen. We talked about how small acts of kindness create our larger movement to end homelessness. You know: “Anyone can help, and we love that.” My minor, habitual act is to buy a magazine on my way back home.

What’s yours?

About the author: Jessica was the KNO Clothing Communications and Public Relations Associate during Summer 2011. She studies English and Sociology at Gordon College, but is abroad in the UK this year. She continues to blog for KNO and hopes to one day work as an editor.
Mar 09, 2012
0 comments: Buy KNO, Give Hope

The time is 2:30am on a Thursday morning. It’s early February in New York and the wind sweeps through the street corridors, making the pre-dawn air more bitterly cold than the thermometer already suggests. In the small pool of light cast by the window display of a store called Union Square Wines & Spirits sits a small huddled figure. It’s a young girl, around college-aged by the looks of it.

The wind picks up. The girl shivers more violently and wraps her flimsy black jacket around her body tighter. Her legs, clad only in thin black tights, are visibly shaking as they struggle to fold in closer to the source of what little body heat is being generated. Exhaustion and desperation are written across her face as she tries to defy the laws of physics and disappear from her harsh environment altogether by curling into an increasingly smaller ball.

Passing by her pitiful figure, you might think to yourself “Poor girl, so young and already homeless.” But wait. What is this? There’s a book in her hand and she reaches to take a swig from bottle of Naked Juice. And is that a Macbook Pro she just pulled out?

Well that girl is none other than yours sincerely.

What was I doing sitting on a cold and dirty New York sidewalk at 2:30 in the morning when I had class that day and should have been fast asleep in the dorm room that I’m already paying way too much for? No, I was not locked out of my room, nor was I doing some kind of challenge to raise money for a good cause. In fact, there were about 200 other people with me who formed a line wrapping around the block, of which I stood at the tale end. All of us were sacrificing sleep and the warmth of our homes in the hopes of being one of the first three hundred people to buy a CD in order to obtain a limited wristband that would allow us to the meet the CD’s artist, South Korean pop sensations Girls’ Generation, later that day. Call me crazy, but it was worth it.

The cold and the sleep deprivation must have really gotten to me in a deep way because while shivering on that sidewalk and attempting to read Antigone by the light of the display window, I had a revelation.

When I first learned about KNO Clothing, I was under the impression that it donated a shirt for every shirt sold. During the application process for my current position, I realized that the “article of clothing” donated for every article bought was actually based on what people requested. Most of the time, organizations have requested brand new pairs of socks and I must admit that I had mixed feelings about this. For a while, “Why socks?” was the question on my mind, and I’m sure many of you have also wondered this at one point. Why not a shirt? After all, a shirt does so much more, right? Well I found out for myself the hard way to never underestimate the importance of a warm, clean pair of socks.

Sitting on that icy sidewalk, my toes were the first to fall in the battle to stay warm. After just an hour, my feet felt like two leaden weights attached to the ends of my increasingly numbing legs. All because I didn’t have the foresight to put on a pair of socks. Every day, people wander around and go to bed on the sidewalks of New York. To someone without the comforts of a home to return to, having a spare pair of socks is truly a blessing.

So I challenge you to give this simple gift today. Buy KNO, give hope.
Jan 29, 2012
0 comments: Courage

Courage.

Courage is not just having the strength to stand up for what you believe in. Courage is more than being able to do the “right thing” when the whole world seems to be against you. Courage is not simply the lack of fear, but the ability to do something in spite of fear.

When I see news stories about firefighters who jumped into raging flames to save a child or soldiers who died defending their comrades, I think to myself: now that’s courage. But you don’t need to save a life or take a stand in the public eye to be courageous. In fact, I realized that sometimes the most difficult situation in which to summon up courage is one that is out of the spotlight; for example, on the side of a New York City street.

After living in New York for about four months, I’ve already lost count of the number of homeless individuals I’ve seen – and passed by wordlessly – in my day to day travels. After reading about the amazingly perspective-changing interactions with homeless people that the interns before me have shared, I vowed to take the initiative to reach out to the next person I see sitting on the sidewalk or asking for change.

It should be so easy. Just start by asking their name, like you would do with anyone you just met. I’m not inviting them to come live with me or even buying them a meal. What is there to be daunted by? Yet each time, I still find myself passing by, albeit with a twinge of regret and something like shame. Sometimes I’m with friends, sometimes I’m by myself. Regardless of the situation, I still find myself lack the courage to take that first step. Maybe I’m afraid of rejection or maybe I fear being judged by those around me.

Taking the B train to Bryant Park about a week ago, I witnessed a scene that both amazed and humbled me. A man walked into the subway car and started soliciting those on board for money or food. I’d seen this many times before. One man reached for his wallet and threw in some change while the rest of my fellow passengers were either absorbed in their smartphones or looked around a little uncomfortably. As I bit my lip, wondering if I should contribute to the hat he was holding out, I heard a woman’s voice calling out tensely, with a trace of fear and anger, “Where do you think you’re going?” I turned my head and saw a little girl, probably no older than 10, running towards the man with a bag of bread. Boldly ignoring her mother’s cries, she handed over the bread with a solid “Here you go.”

In a matter of seconds, this young girl had done what I couldn’t accomplish with hours of deliberation. Perhaps what I – and many of us – need to adopt is a more child-like disposition in order to dispel the fears and doubts that arise from learned judgments. This is courage of a very different kind, but it is no less admirable.

About the author:

Whitney Zhou is the Campus Chapter and Community Partner Associate for KNO. She is a first-year student at New York University.
Dec 09, 2011
0 comments: Homelessness in Oxford

I see homelessness in Oxford.

I passed a woman sleeping on the street in the middle of the afternoon. Her dog sleeping next to her in a garbage bag. A few weeks ago, I stopped after a midnight grocery run to chat with a magazine vendor experiencing homelessness. We chatted about my summer internship with KNO. He had some boots, but no socks. I heard that casual kind of disappointment:

“Darn, yeah. Woulda loved some socks.”

“Yeah.”

But, why does it matter for me to tell you this? It’s rather tiring. On top of that, I don’t even believe that you need a house to have a home. Many houses aren’t full of the love and warmth and protection that our imaginations like to make up. Sleeping on a sidewalk doesn’t necessarily mean this woman has no deeper sense of home. Not having socks doesn’t mean the man is an alien to comfort or emotional warmth. I am sometimes tempted to say that the issues of homelessness are insignificant.

Yet, there is something profound and awful about the lack of a house. The comforts and the safety of walls, doors, plumbing, and lighting can change a person’s world. Waking up in a bed instead of waking up on a dark street corner… It could very well change the whole of one’s life. The holidays spent in a house might just create a home.

Maybe it is tiring to keep thinking about all these people, somewhere, out on the streets. Yet, I can’t find a reason to not want houses for them, either. So, despite the seasonal “compassion fatigue” that can often hit us, I thought I’d share this with you: rexpix.tumblr.com

I hope this kind of art can be redeeming for you, me, and the photographed people experiencing homelessness. Rex Hohlbein is not just a photographer, but an architect with a passion for building houses and homes and it comes through in these portraits.

Enjoy. And don’t forget to be a part of KNOvember.
Jan 16, 2012
0 comments: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this special day, we want to honor and salute Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the legend whose life has been an inspiration to us.

Over the past few days, we’ve spent some time reading through several quotes of his. Here’s one we want to share with you:

“Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'”

Dr. King reminds us that dreams are important. They give us vision and provide a hope for our future¬—a better future.

Dr. King’s dream of our nation rising up and living out the creed that formed this country is a powerful one. It’s a dream that we believe in deeply, and the dream gives us the energy and encouragement we need to continue in this movement to help the homeless. You know what’s even more amazing? Dr. King’s dream is one shared by so many people across this country and around the world.

So today, we are grateful for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the countless others who have spent their lives on behalf of those who have no voice . . . that includes you.